


Downtime

by titansatemysoul



Series: Wayward Son, We're By Your Side (Prompt Fill Collection) [12]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Prompt Fill, brotherhood era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:07:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22487650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/titansatemysoul/pseuds/titansatemysoul
Summary: The heat is definitely not working.Noct will have to call Ignis in the morning and find out who to contact about building maintenance. For now, he has fleece pajama pants and a thick, goose feather comforter.A problem for tomorrow.
Relationships: Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia
Series: Wayward Son, We're By Your Side (Prompt Fill Collection) [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1134263
Comments: 12
Kudos: 67





	Downtime

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starrynoctsky (lightinthehall)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightinthehall/gifts).



Noctis moves out of the palace in the face of opposition. He held up his end of the deal he made with his father at the beginning of high school: top of his class two years in a row and attendance at bi-weekly council meetings with Ignis. Not a bad price for his freedom – with an asterisk, of course. The prince will always be monitored, the privilege of a little autonomy never far from being taken away.

It’s not so bad. Regis could ask Ignis to keep him updated on Noct’s wellbeing, or have one of his staff members keep tabs, but instead he calls Noctis himself, every night over dinner. It’s annoying, having his dad ask him if he’s eating right and whether he remembered to sort his trash, but Noct is in no rush for the day when Regis stops calling.

-

It’s the middle of the night when Noctis is woken up by a chill creeping beneath his comforter. Peaking out over the edge, he paws for the remote to turn on the heat. When it doesn’t respond, he tries a second time, squeezing his eyes shut to keep from falling even further out of his sleepy state of mind. It’s definitely not working.

Noctis drops the remote, hearing it fall over the side of his bed into a pile of clothes, burying himself back beneath the blanket. He’ll have to call Ignis in the morning and find out who to contact about maintenance. For now, he has fleece pajama pants and a thick, goose feather comforter.

A problem for tomorrow.

-

No reasonable human should be awake at three in the morning, Noctis decides when his phones LED flash and buzzing wakes him up again. It’s even colder than before, goosebumps forming on a bit of exposed skin as Noctis sits up in bed.

There’s an email alert for all Citadel staff blinking in his notifications. Noctis is just about to swipe it away when he decides to open it, curious what kind of message was so important it had to be sent at such an unreasonable hour.

 **CITYWIDE POWER FAILURE** , the subject line reads in all caps.

As the cogs slowly begin turning in Noct’s head, he remembers the last meeting he attended before the council adjourned for winter break. The primary power plant that served Insomnia was asking for government resources. Something about the years unusually high snowfall and low temperatures causing undue strain on the main structures. It seems like they were right.

There are already messages appearing in the thread, adding information that Noctis doesn’t really understand. Someone mentions that the King has been notified, but no one seems to notice that Noctis has been included in the thread. He scrolls down to the newest message and smiles.

_From: Ignis Scientia_  
_RE: CITYWIDE POWER FAILURE_

_Message received. On my way in._

Noctis checks his battery, 89%, and swipes to his recent calls. He considers calling his dad for a moment, but he probably won’t answer. Or worse, he will and make Noctis come home. Instead he taps on ‘Iggy’, shivering as the cold glass touches his ear.

“I noticed your name on the email chain,” Ignis says, not bothering with a greeting as he picks up. His voice sounds far off, meaning that Noctis is probably on speaker phone and that Ignis is already in his car and en route to the Citadel. “I’m sorry that it woke you.”

“It’s fine,” Noctis replies, though he has to stifle a yawn. “Is everything okay?”

“There was back up failure,” Ignis explains. “Completely unacceptable, but we’ve dispatched city maintenance to help with the snow removal, and we’re ensuring that other necessary facilities have functional generators.”

“Sounds like a busy night.”

“Indeed.”

Noctis draws back the covers, holding the phone with his shoulder as he digs through his laundry pile for a sweatshirt. Neither of them are talking, but Ignis doesn’t hang up, the radio softly rambling about the power out and what people should do in the background. Noct’s apartment is darker than usual, the ambient city lights not there to wash his living space in constant dim fluorescence.

“The roads are horrible,” Ignis complains, letting out a rare curse word, undoubtedly caused by the unwelcome wake up call. “This snowstorm is far worse than was reported.”

Noctis is just about to ask what he’s talking about as he steps into his living room, when he sees for himself. There’s at least a foot of snow on his balcony and railing with icicles clinging to the glass. It’s still coming down, too, obscuring the normally expansive view of Insomnia. As he gets closer, Noct can just make out the outline of the Citadel.

“You shouldn’t drive in this,” he says, cupping his hands against the glass and squinting for a better view. His body heat leaves just leaves a fogged imprint on the window, so he gives up. “No one should be out in this.”

“I don’t have a choice, Noct. I’ll be alright.”

“My apartment is closer.”

“I can’t come to your apartment.”

“You can make all the phone calls you want from here. I’ll keep you company. Don’t drive all the way to the Citadel.”

“Noctis, please.”

“My power is out, too,” Noct reminds him. Ignis may be a junior staff on the council but he is still, _Noct’s_. “Come on, Ignis. Don’t make me make it an order.”

Ignis doesn’t answer right away, but Noctis is pretty sure that he hears him sigh, and then the ticking of a turn signal.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Noctis grins.

“Drive safe.”

-

Leaving his phone on the counter, Noctis takes stock of his apartment. He never has groceries to worry about unless Ignis brings them, so he takes out the only thing in his freezer, a convenience store ice cream bar, tearing the plastic and taking a bite as he returns to his room. His teeth sting from the cold as he reenters his bedroom, kicking around some junk on his floor to clear a space. He kneels down, wedging himself under his desk using his phone as a light.

Noctis doesn’t spend money on very much. The Citadel and Ignis make most of his purchases for him, so he doesn’t think about it. Usually. He and Prompto scoured three electronics stores together before the newest game console came out last year, sparing no expense for the best accessories and add-ons. His console is attached to a surge protector with two hours of back up battery life. The unit is already blinking, signaling the power outage as he carefully unplugs everything, cradling it under his arm. He yanks his comforter off his bed dragging it on the floor as he brings the components of a makeshift workstation into the living room.

Ignis arrives just as Noctis is fishing through his school bag for his battery packs, breathless from the walk up to the top floor of the building. Noctis hurries to unlock the door before Ignis can manage his key, taking his computer bag and a few plastics out of his hands.

“I forgot about the elevators,” Ignis huffs, shrugging off his jacket, shoulders still dusted with snow. “I only brought myself coffee, unfortunately.”

“It’s okay,” Noctis says, locking the door behind him. “My stove is gas, I can make tea.”

“Are you alright?” Ignis asks, inspecting the nest on Noct’s couch.

“Just cold.”

Noctis shows him the back up battery and is pleased when Ignis tells him it was a good idea to bring it out. They don’t get much time to talk any more than that because Ignis’s phone rings, and then doesn’t stop ringing unless he’s on a call. Noctis does make tea, setting up Ignis’s laptop up on the coffee table so he can multitask while the water boils.

Ignis has been charged with confirming that the city hospitals have functional generators and assessing whether the roads around them need plowing or extra traffic monitoring to keep them clear for emergencies. He sits on Noct’s couch, comforter draped over his lap, fingers fluttering over the keys once Noctis connects him to his phones data signal as he chirps out addresses and confirmations to everyone who calls.

“Is there anything I can do?” Noctis asks when Ignis hangs up with his superior after appraising him of the situation. He looks tired, with dark circles under his eyes, accentuated by his glasses which have slipped down the bridge of his nose.

“My superior Councilman isn’t happy I came here. And he can’t get a hold of the King.”

“I told you to come here, though.” Noctis has never liked Ignis’ superior on the council. He makes Ignis work at all hours and never gives him the appreciation that he deserves. “You’re still doing everything he asked you to, did he want you to risk getting into a car accident? What an asshole.”

Ignis gives him a look but doesn’t disagree, gawking a bit as Noctis unlocks his phone. Noctis doesn’t like playing the prince card with anyone, but he’ll do it for Ignis.

He’s impatient as his father’s personal line starts to ring. Regis picks up just as Noctis realizes that Ignis is still staring at him, his face softened by fatigue wearing a fond expression. Noctis mouths ‘ _what?’_ , but Ignis just shrugs, going back to his phone with a small smile curling the corners of his lips.

“Noctis,” Noct can hear a the buzz of busy staffers in the background, undoubtedly scrambling just like Ignis. “I’ve been meaning to take a moment to call.”

“Ignis is here,” Noctis says before anything else.

“I’m aware,” Regis replies. “He seems to be staying on top of everything. Are you alright? I can send the guard to pick you up.”

“I’m fine,” Noctis brushes him off. “I _told_ Ignis to come here. Ignis didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Of course not, I’m surprised he was asked to come in at all. I’ve heard the roads are quite rough at the moment.”

“ _Exactly_. Also, he’s been trying to get in touch with your office. Have someone call him back so Ignis can finish his job and get some rest.”

There’s another voice, in the background but close enough that Noctis can hear. It sounds like Ignis’s uncle.

“Yes, he’s there,” Regis is saying. “Call downstairs and connect me when you reach them.”

“I’ll let you go,” Noctis says. “Thank you.”

“I’m glad you’re both alright. Please call me tomorrow, Noct. Stay warm.”

Noct hangs up with his father, smug as he imagines the talking to Ignis’s horrible boss can look forward to. In reality, he knows that Regis won’t make it about Ignis. He’ll mention being concerned for the Prince of Lucis’s well being and remind everyone how his safety is of the utmost priority, and he won’t question when the councilman boasts to the King that it was his idea to send Ignis to Noct’s apartment instead of the Citadel.

“That was a bit much,” Ignis chides. “But, thank you.”

“Come on, you’ve done enough for the night. It’s practically light out by now,” Noctis points out.

“I’m almost done. And the work keeps me from thinking about how terribly cold it is in here.”

Ignis is right, there’s definitely a chill in the apartment, the residual heat from before the outage completely gone. Noctis leaves Ignis to finish his emails, and heads for his bedroom. He moves an empty trash can blocking his closet, sliding open the double doors, pushing back against a few loose garments that threaten to tumble out. There are extra blankets on the high shelf, a bit dusty from disuse, but otherwise clean. Yanking another sweatshirt off one of the hangers, Noctis also takes the pillows off his bed before going back to the living room.

Ignis is attaching his laptop to the battery pack when Noctis reappears, flipping the switch to set it to charge.

“Not such a dumb purchase now, huh?” Noct quips at him, holding out the sweatshirt. Ignis takes it gratefully, unbuttoning his white dress shirt and draping it over the back of the couch. He has a grey jersey t-shirt beneath it, quickly covered by Noct’s commemorative _Deamon Hunter_ hoodie. Noct joins him on the couch, artfully wrapping them up in the array of blankets and cushioning their backs with the pillows.

“You’re going to sleep out here?” Ignis asks.

“Are you?”

“It may have been unwise to drink so much coffee at this hour.”

“ _Really?_ " Noctis drawls sarcastically, glancing at the four empty cans of Ebony on his coffee table. “Let’s watch something then.”

He pulls Ignis’ laptop towards him, pulling up a browser and going to his favorite streaming site. Ignis leans in as they flip through the options, agreeing on _Malboro Valley 2_ , an undoubtedly horrible remake of a movie from their childhood.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Noctis says as the opening credits begin to play. “I’m sorry you had to work though.”

“I was happy to do it,” Ignis responds. “It’s important that everyone is safe at a time like this.”

The movie is exactly as bad as they were expecting, but it’s good because it means neither have to pay attention too hard. Mid way through, Ignis takes off his glasses, settling back into Noct’s pillow as he pulls a blanket up to his nose. Noctis isn’t surprised when Ignis falls asleep, slumped down far enough that his head his resting on his shoulder. He shifts to make Ignis more comfortable, lowering the volume of the movie. Noctis is just invested enough to stay awake until the end, closing the laptop as the credits roll. Their phones chime beside it, and Noctis checks to make sure Ignis is still asleep before he checks.

It’s an email notifying them that power will be restored in the next few hours. The maintenance crews were able to remove the excess snow from the structures and there will be a meeting on Monday on how to prevent it from happening in the future.

There’s also a text from his dad, telling him that Ignis has the rest of the week off and reminding him to call in the morning. Noctis taps out a quick response, still not quite tired enough for sleep. He browses aimlessly as Ignis sleeps beside him, checking Prompto’s photo feed and the news.

There’s a positive blurb about the district hospital and how it fared overnight, and even though Ignis isn’t mentioned, Noctis can’t help but feel a little bit proud. Suddenly, Ignis shifts in his sleep, turning further into Noct’s side and wrapping one arm lazily around his waist as he seeks out some extra heat. Even unconscious, Ignis is strong, pushing Noctis partway over and using him as a pillow.

Noctis doesn’t resist, pulling a cushion under his head and settling down. He’s taken many a good nap on this couch, happy to act as Ignis’ personal heater if that’s what he wants. It’s been awhile since they’ve slept together, and even longer since they’ve slept this close. It’s uncomfortable, so Noctis regretfully nudges Ignis awake enough to make him move.

“Can you at least put your legs up?” he asks when Ignis opens his eyes. Ignis makes a noise and does as he’s told, asleep before Noctis can say anything else. Noctis half expected him to get up and leave or make Noct go back to his room and sleep on the couch himself. Ignis is a lot bigger than Noct is now, though that doesn’t seem to stop him from being the “little spoon”, still tucked into his shoulder, legs easily slipping between Noct’s as he finds a comfortable position.

Noctis has never slept with another person before, like this. It’s intimate, but not as awkward as he always imagined it would be. Pulling his arm out from under them as it starts to get tingly, he drapes is around Ignis’ shoulder, adjusting the covers around them.

Even if it’s by accident, this isn’t really something that _friends_ do. It’s not the first time Noctis has thought about Ignis as something other than a friend, or the second or the third. There’s always been _something_ there, but it was easy to ignore. Until Noctis started spending time with Prompto and realized that there was a difference between having a friend and an Ignis.

Noctis isn’t ready to call it a crush. He’s had those before, but this has never felt the same. There are no jitters or nerves around Ignis, no embarrassing moments or pining for attention. And there’s something from Ignis too, that Noctis is starting to notice more and more even though he still isn’t sure what it is.

Noctis feels for Ignis’ hand, twining their fingers together and resting them on his chest. Ignis easily accepts, clutching Noct right back as his fingers curl around the back of his hand like it’s second nature.

Whatever Noctis feels for Ignis, it’s more than a crush. A lot more, he can admit now because he’s too tired to be embarrassed about it. There will almost definitely be jitters and anxiety when Noct finally works up the nerve to speak up and plenty of embarrassing moments as they stumble through figuring out how to make the two of them work. If Noctis were more awake, he might even take the time to be scared about it. Instead he leans into Ignis, nuzzling against his hair as he closes his eyes. 

A problem for tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry this is so late. Life really has gotten away from me but I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> -  
> [Please check out the cute fic that Sous wrote for me for our exchange!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22003264)


End file.
